EHCP delays see county's schools miss out on £7.3m

Delays in assessing children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) cost a county's mainstream schools an estimated £7.3m in a year.

Cambridgeshire County Council said a backlog of about 1,800 children waiting for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) meant funding was not being released to schools.

Less than one in 10 EHCPs, the legal documents setting out a pupil's needs and what support they should receive, were being completed on time in the county.

A council spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring access to good quality education placements for all children, including those with SEND."

They added demand for EHCPs put "significant pressure on council services" and that the authority was investing in staffing to tackle the delays.

"We know there is more to do, and we remain focused on reducing delays wherever possible and are actively considering further investment in this service area," the spokesperson said.

About 9% of EHCPs in Cambridgeshire were being issued within a statutory 20-week (140-day) deadline, compared with about 46% nationally.

If the council had been performing in line with the national average, more than £7.3m could have been provided to mainstream schools last year.

When an EHCP is in place, top-up funding is given to the school for that pupil, which was £8,594 on average last year in Cambridgeshire.

Backdated funding is not paid to schools for EHCPs that are issued late.

Paul, a father from Huntingdon, said the backlog was "not a big surprise".

He has been waiting 11 months for an update to his 12-year-old autistic daughter's EHCP, who goes to a SEND school.

"Eirlys had her annual review in November last year, we've heard nothing at all from the council about it," he said.

"The plan does need updating."

Paul said he felt for those schools trying to support children without extra funding.

"Some schools really do try hard and try their best and do what they can," he said.

Alex Bulat, a Labour county councillor for St Ives South, and Mark Goldsack, a Conservative county councillor for Soham North, put forward a motion asking the council to investigate the issue.

The motion, debated at a meeting on Tuesday, said SEND services in Cambridgeshire had "drifted from crisis to failure, causing severe distress to children and families".

However, the motion fell down because time ran out before a vote could take place.

Vicky McGregor, a SEND coordinator at Hartford Infant and Preschool, in Huntingdon, said: "EHCP delays have a significant negative impact on children, families, school finance and staff capacity."

She said the school put provision in place "immediately" where a pupil has complex needs, even if they do not have an EHCP.

"Children cannot wait for a statutory process to be completed before receiving support," she said.

She added: "However, this creates substantial financial pressure. Additional staffing, specialist interventions, bespoke resources and environmental adaptations are often funded by the school while we await decisions, final plans or funding allocations."

Cambridgeshire County Council said it was aware of the backlog and had a target of 20% of plans being completed on time by the end of the year.

It is also developing a scheme that could provide some funding to mainstream schools where delayed assessments were causing "particular difficulties".

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